With the swing of a mallet, Sean Watters (above right) sends a small orange ball careening between two traffic cones halfway across the court. Players marvel at his accuracy, and Watters rides a victory lap around the court, striking a metal basketball backboard ceremoniously on his way around.

Watters has organized this group of urbanites into participating in this fledgling sport every Thursday night for the last year.

They play on basketball courts underneath a freeway, using makeshift mallets fabricated from ski poles, duct tape and PVC pipe, and barriers made from two-by-four inch boards bolted together, while drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon.

"If you build it, they will come," Watters said. He first began organizing the event after a stranger from Corvallis, Ore., saw a video of his fixed-gear bike on the Internet.

“A lot of people who ride bikes are an eclectic group," Watters said. "This is a way for them to have an outlet instead of riding by themselves."

Above: Sarah Jarolimek rides by on her bike.

Bike polo began on grass courts and was played in similar fashion to regular polo. Hard court polo -- polo on asphalt -- began in urban cities. It spread from the East coast to the West and from larger cities, such as Seattle, Vancouver and Los Angles, to small cities, such as Eugene.

This year, Portland will host the Northwest's first bike polo tournament.